Cubs' Kyle Hendricks enjoying change of pace compared to injury-delayed start last season

MESA, Ariz. — This year, there was no fanfare around Kyle Hendricks’ first bullpen session of spring training. He was just a Cubs veteran going through a familiar progression Thursday — unlike last February, when every step in his throwing program was closely analyzed for clues on his timeline back from a long shoulder injury.

“I’m just so excited to be out there for Opening Day again, with my guys, [on the field for the] national anthem, that whole feel, it’s so special,” said Hendricks, who made his 2023 debut in late May, almost 11 months after the injury sidelined him. “Not sitting here and watching it on TV. It’s going to be a lot nicer being there, being at Wrigley, being in person.”

Hendricks, the longest-tenured Cub on the roster, already has a live batting-practice session scheduled Saturday. For comparison, he didn’t throw his first full bullpen session last year until early March. With his 2024 club option looming, there were questions about whether he’d be back. But once he was healthy, Hendricks put together a bounce-back year that made the Cubs’ decision easy.

“Kyle is a great teammate, and that’s most important, is that he is a very approachable guy that makes it easy on others,” manager Craig Counsell said. “And from a manager’s standpoint, you know what you’re getting.”

As a former longtime division rival, Counsell knows Hendricks very well. Since the Brewers named Counsell their manager in 2015, Hendricks has made 32 starts against them. He’s already trying to take advantage of that history, essentially asking for Counsell’s scouting report on him.

“When you compete against someone, and have done it for a long time, you’re always curious as to their perspective, and vice versa,” Counsell said. “So those are certainly useful conversations, and you use those to just pick up really little things.”

For now, Hendricks is the only 2016 World Series champion left on the roster. But this offseason, Carl Edwards Jr. signed a minor-league contract with an invitation to spring training, giving him an opportunity to compete for a roster spot.

“It’s just amazing to still be here and get this many seasons for the Chicago Cubs,” Hendricks said. “A storied franchise like this. And the beauty of Wrigley Field, being able to go in there every day for work, I can’t call it work at all. I see it when you see guys like CJ coming back. We get to just hang out and kind of reminisce on those earlier years and seeing it come full circle.”

The two also got their first taste of professional baseball in the Rangers’ organization together, along with another non-roster invitee, catcher Jorge Alfaro. Reunited in Cubs camp, they reminisced about the little clubhouse in short-season Spokane.

“Texas Rangers all back together,” Hendricks said with a smile.

A lot has changed since then. The most recent development came off the field. Hendricks and his wife, Emma Cain, welcomed their son into the world in November.

All three former Rangers debuted for different teams. And both Edwards Jr. and Alfaro have bounced around the majors in recent years. But for the past decade, Hendricks has been a constant on a Cubs roster that has seen a lot of turnover.

“There’s no other place I want to be,” he said.

Hendricks has high hopes for this season, the last on his contract.

“I think we’re going to really make a good run with this team and start winning games in October again,” he said.